The present invention relates to laminating machines, and more specifically, to an improved laminating machine which improves the ability to properly tension the laminating media as it is utilized by the laminating machine.
Laminating machines are often used to place individual sheets of paper or other material within a protective laminate coating. The coating ensures that the paper enclosed within the coating will remain readable for a much longer period of time than if the paper were not contained within the coating.
The laminating coating material utilized in the laminating process comes from a supply roll removably and rotatably mounted to one of the rollers on the laminating machine frame. When the roll is depleted, it must be replaced with a fresh supply roll containing more of the laminating material for use by the laminating machine. In order to enable the supply roll to be replaced, most prior art laminating machines provide a pair of opposed slots located on opposite sides of the laminating machine frame which are capable of rotationally supporting opposite ends of the supply roll. Once the supply roll is depleted, the depleted roll is lifted and slid outwardly from within the slots and a fresh roll is dropped into and rotationally positioned within the slots. The material supported on the fresh supply roll is then engaged with the laminating machine for use by the machine.
Furthermore, in the laminating process, in order to ensure that the coating coming from the supply roll is properly positioned around the paper without causing wrinkles or bubbles in the coating, the tension applied to the laminate must be carefully controlled. To accomplish this, most laminating machines include a tension adjustment mechanism which enables the machine operator to adjust the tension of the laminate material as it is pulled through the machine to ensure the proper positioning of the paper with respect to the laminate coating and to ensure that the laminate coating does not wrinkle, or become stretched or torn during the laminating process. The tension adjustment mechanisms normally take the form of a slip clutch mechanism located adjacent a driven roller of the laminating machine which contacts and pulls the laminating material. The clutch is mounted to a driven gear and can be adjusted laterally towards and away from the roller. By adjusting the position of the clutch with respect to the driven roller, the slip clutch can selectively engage the driven roller to rotate the roller at any rotational speed between zero and the rotational speed of the driven gear.
Further, many laminating machines have complicated mounting assemblies for the pull rolls extending across the laminating machine between which the laminating material passes. The complex configuration of these assemblies is necessary because the pull rolls have very sensitive silicone exteriors. If these silicone exteriors become damaged, which can easily happen during the mounting of the pull rolls, the entire pull roll must be removed and repaired or replaced before it can be used.
Also, based on the complicated assemblies needed to mount the pull rolls to the machines, the laminating machines include highly complex mechanisms for adjusting the positions of the pull rolls with respect to one another. These mechanisms allow the space between the rolls to be widened or lessened to accommodate varying operating conditions, but, due to their complexity, often are difficult to assemble and repair when broken.
While laminating machines incorporating slots for supporting material supply rolls and slip clutch devices for controlling the movement of the material through the machine, these aspects of the laminating machine are not without certain drawbacks. For example, the replacement of the supply rolls in a laminating machine utilizing the slots to hold the supply roll presents a number of difficulties in the replacement process. First, the first supply rolls are very heavy. Therefore, the initial positioning of the supply roll in alignment with the slots requires a significant amount of effort on the part of the individual or individuals replacing the supply roll to lift the fresh supply roll into position. Furthermore, the slots do not include any means for adjusting the tension of the material coming from the supply roll in order to reduce any problems caused by an improper tensioning of the material being supplied to the laminating machine.
Also, while the use of a slip clutch provides an effective means for adjusting the tension of a laminating material moving through a laminating machine, there are problems with the configuration of the slip clutch as it is used in prior art laminating machines. More specifically, due to the fact that the slip clutch is attached to a driven gear which, in turn, is attached to a pulley engaged with a drive motor, the slip clutch and drive gear must be mounted coaxially on the laminating machine frame outwardly from the driven roller. This configuration results in a significant increase in the overall width of the machine. Further, in order for the power generated by the motor to be transferred from the slip clutch to other drive rollers, a second drive gear must also usually be positioned coaxially with respect to the first drive gear and the slip clutch. This results in a laminating machine configuration in which a plurality of drive belts must be connected between various rollers to transfer the power from the drive motor. Because the belts cannot overlap one another without impairing the transfer of the rotational power between the respective rollers, the belts must be laterally staggered outwardly away from the side of the laminating machine. This further increases the overall width of the laminating machine and the complexity of the drive system necessary to run the machine.
Therefore, it is desirable to develop a laminating machine which includes a supply roll mounting mechanism that reduces the amount of effort required to load a fresh supply roll onto the laminating machine and that also includes a tensioning means for adjusting the tension of the material supplied from the supply roll. It is also desirable to develop a laminating machine that includes an improved slip clutch mechanism that effectively transfers power between the drive motor and the various rollers on the machine and that reduces the complexity and width of the drive mechanism. It is still further desirable to develop a machine with a pull roll mounting assembly that has a construction that allows the pull rolls to be mounted easily to the machine without being damaged, and allows a more simple roll height adjustment mechanism to be used.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a laminating machine that includes a slip clutch assembly that minimizes the necessary offsets and idlers required for power transfer from the drive motor of the laminating machine.
It is another object of the invention to provide a slip clutch assembly that can be mounted directly to a driven roller to eliminate the need for any external mounting for the slip clutch and reduce the overall width of the machine.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a laminating machine including a mounting assembly for pull rolls that greatly increases the ease of mounting the rolls while also lessening the likelihood of damaging the rolls while being mounted.
It is another object of the invention to provide a laminating machine incorporating an improved roll mounting assembly that allows for a simplified roll height adjustment assembly.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a laminating machine that includes a supply roll mounting mechanism that greatly increases the ease in which a fresh laminating material supply roll can be positioned on the laminating machine.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a laminating machine that includes a tensioning mechanism on the supply roll mounting mechanism in order to adjust the tension of the material supplied from the supply roll.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a laminating machine having the above features that greatly reduces the overall complexity and cost of the laminating machine.
The present invention is a laminating machine including an improved slip clutch assembly for a driven roller and an improved supply roll mounting mechanism. Both the slip clutch and mounting mechanism enable the laminating machine to be tensioned at separate locations within the machine in order that the laminating material utilized in the machine is properly tensioned throughout its travel through the machine.
The improved slip clutch assembly includes a central shaft mounted directly within the hub of the driven roller. By mounting the slip clutch assembly directly to the driven roller, the assembly can be aligned with the drive motor and drive pulley in order to eliminate many of the idler pulleys and belts previously required to transfer power from the driven pulley to the slip clutch assemblies and driven rollers. This greatly reduces the complexity of the drive mechanism for the machine and significantly reduces the overall width of the machine.
The supply roll mounting mechanism includes a slip clutch tensioning mechanism disposed within the mechanism and utilized to adjust the tension of the laminating material supplied from the supply roll to the machine. This enables an operator of the machine to continuously adjust the tension of the laminating material supplied from the roll to accommodate changes in the operation of the laminating machine.
Furthermore, the mounting mechanism includes a support roll holder pivotally mounted at one end to the laminating machine. Opposite the pivoting connection, the support roll holder is releasably engageable with a latching mechanism integrated with the frame of the laminating machine that is operable to hold the support roll holder in a stationary position when material is supplied from the support roll. When all of the laminating material has been removed from the supply roll, the latching mechanism can be disengaged from the supply roll holder in order to allow the roll holder to pivot outwardly from the laminating machine. When the support roll holder is pivoted away from the laminating machine, the exhausted supply roll can be removed and replaced with a fresh supply roll in a quick and easy manner that greatly reduces the downtime for the laminating machine.
Various other features, objects and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the-following detailed description taken together with the drawings.